All Blacks Jordie and Scott Barrett plus forwards coach Jason Ryan reflect on the squad’s 27 - 13 defeat in Paris and say there is ‘no lack of drive’ in this week’s clash against Namibia in Toulouse. Video / NZ Herald / Photosport
By Liam Napier in Lyon
From the Wallabies to the All Blacks, Steve Hansen’s presence has been welcomed back into much more familiar surrounds.
Two weeks after he joined the Wallabies at their pre-World Cup camp in France, following a request from Eddie Jones,Hansen has linked with the All Blacks at their Lyon base for the next three days while they regroup for their second pool match against Namibia in Toulouse on Saturday morning (NZT).
As the All Blacks prepared for their record defeat to the Springboks at Twickenham Ian Foster hinted Hansen could join his team at some stage during the World Cup after spending time with the Wallabies.
Donning a bucket hat in sweltering heat, speaking with coaches Jason Ryan and Foster at training, Hansen is now chipping in with his observations as the All Blacks attempt to respond from their first World Cup group stage defeat in history.
Former All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen looks on during a training session in Lyon, France. Photo / Getty
All Blacks forwards coach Ryan, blessed with the pleasure of speaking to media on the ground in France on his birthday, gave a sharp impression of Hansen when asked what the former head coach had to say.
“On a personal level he’s been unbelievable for me right through my Super Rugby career and into the All Blacks. He’s someone I stay in contact with all the time. To have him in here... he’s got a beautiful eye on him. He drops a few good one-liners in but he also helps the coaches and wants the All Blacks to be better first and foremost so it’s been good.
“He’s the greatest coach we’ve ever had so it’s really special to have him in here.”
Several senior All Blacks were caught off-guard when Hansen briefly joined the Wallabies camp but after since speaking with the team’s leadership group, Jordie Barrett indicated any surprise or ill-feeling had been put to bed.
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“I’ve brushed shoulders with Steve a few times and he’s positive,” Barrett said. “He’ll be adding his expertise where he can. I haven’t had a chance to chat to him yet but I’ll take what I can from Steve it’s good to have him back in camp.”
After losing the physical battle against the Springboks and being exposed by the French at the scrum and breakdown, Ryan acknowledged the need for his forward pack to deliver swift improvements. Despite suffering successive defeats there is no sense of being despondent.
“When you look at the South Africa and French tests we were exposed in two big areas but we’ll be right,” Ryan said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in the boys and I know we’ll front up when we need to – and that’s from now on. There’s no other way to look at that.
“We’re gutted to lose. It was a test match that was built up around the world. What an opener, what an occasion, it was a privilege to be a part of. We wanted to put in a better performance than we did.
“The mood is really good. We know what’s in front of us now – we’ve got to win every game. It doesn’t get much clearer than that. You’ve always got to get through your pool play and then box on from there. The boys are in great spirits. We can’t control what happened in the weekend but we can control what we do moving forward and we need to.
“We know this test match against Namibia is really important for us as a forward pack. The boys are disappointed with that but you’ve got to leave it and move forward. I’m really confident of where we need to go. It’s really clear for us.”
Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010, and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.
